Crystal Hearts
by Weavileleader
Summary: A collection of stories of Team Crystal as they go through their lives.  Hopefully, this will be one of my most epic stories yet.  R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Riolu and I were sitting on the beach, my head against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat drumming against my head, counting down the seconds going by. I sighed as I spotted the Farfetch'd sitting in a bush, barely out of sight; even though I was only twelve years old, I was the most famous Pokémon in Treasure Town, and possibly the world, along with Riolu.

"God, I'm sick of them!" I groaned as a scrawny Farfetch'd raised a camera and took a snap at us on the beach. "I wish I could just…I dunno, get out of here, out of this place, somewhere where I'm not the one those paparazzi take endless and endless photos of!" I stood up and strode into the Beach Cave; no matter what, those cowardly birds wouldn't follow me into a mystery dungeon, even if it as the weakest one there.

"Kate, wait," gasped Riolu, rushing after me. I went down a whole two floors before stopping, letting him catch me.

"Kate," Riolu puffed. "You can do that, you know."

I stared at him. "But how?" I asked. "I'm stuck here, full stop."

Riolu just grinned and held up the Dimensional Gear sitting on a string around his throat. My eyes widened.

"No," I said firmly. "No. Won't it create a paradox? Or a distortion in the fabric of space? No."

"It will distort space a bit, yes," Riolu said. "But I can patch it up with the gear as well. Look, Kate, the only way you'll get away from them is if you do this."

I looked up into his sunset-orange eyes. "But what about you?" I asked. "Will you come with me?"

To my surprise, Riolu shook his head. "No, I'm sorry but I want to complete my goal of becoming the world's greatest explorer. Once I do that, I'll come looking for you, and we'll stay together." I nodded. Riolu walked one step forward so that we were nose to nose, and then kissed me. I kissed him back, knowing that this might be the last time I'd see him for a while, maybe even forever, and so made sure that I'd never forget that last kiss with him in the crystal-walled cave. We then broke apart, and Riolu created a special hole in the wall using his space powers.

"I'm going to send you to the Phanto region, in the Pokémon universe," he said. I nodded, and, with one last fleeting look at Riolu, leapt full-force at the swirling portal, leaving behind everyone in the Treasure universe-including Riolu.

* * *

><p>Kate woke up lying on a grassy floor of a forest in the Phanto region. All around her were dark trees, and the floor she lay on was covered in pinecones. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, thinking, <em>what am I going to do?<em>

Well, she didn't know, really; she had just left a place where she had something to do, always, like picking up jobs from the noticeboards, maybe going to the beach or Fogbound Lake with Riolu, and always, she had friends. Now she was in a completely different place, where she didn't know anyone, and she couldn't go back to the Treasure dimension-not that she'd want to, anyway. She just stood up and started to walk through the dense woods.

Eventually she came across a berry bush. Starving, she began to gobble some Oran Berries from it, until a quiet voice said, "Get your paws off my berries, sweetie, or I'll whoop your ass."

Kate whirled around, frightened, to see a Pokémon she had never seen before; a Banshat. The Banshat had red hair that was swept to one side of her face, and her legs were white with gems all over them, with her purple feet poking out the bottom so that she looked like she wore jeans. Her electric blue eye flashed and she flexed her wings threateningly.

"Alright, kid," she said icily. "I'll give you a head start, so then I can catch you and torture you more. 1…" Kate quickly got to her feet. "2…" she was already starting to run, knowing that she was fast, but the Banshat might be faster. "3!" The Banshat suddenly launched herself into the air and flew after her, gaining more and more speed as she went. Kate stumbled and tripped over the roots of trees, which slowed her down. Banshat was really starting to close in, and Kate knew that she could no longer outrun the Class Pokémon, so she just stood her ground and brought back her fist, which started to glow blue and have small snowflakes come off it. When Banshat came at her, Kate slammed her fist into the large bat's face, flinging her back, howling in pain as she tumbled through the trees. Kate sighed and turned around only to yelp in fright; right in front of her was an Absol, looking down at her curiously.

"Wow," he said quietly. "You are quite strong, I must admit. How would you like to join the Darkstorm Guild?"

"Darkstorm Guild?" Kate asked confusedly.

"Yes," said the Absol. "It is a Guild specialising in the training of Dark-type Pokemon, and helping citizens in times of war. In fact, that Banshat that just chased you is Madison, she used to be in the Guild but graduated. She was always that hostile I guess…anyway, would you like to join?"

"Yes," she said, knowing that her only chance to start anew right now was to join a guild. Absol motioned for her to follow him and lead the way through the trees until they reached a large tree. Absol pressed his paw on a small knob on the tree's roots, and a section of the front of the tree lifted to reveal a little compartment. "Go in," said Absol, and Kate walked cautiously inside before Absol squeezed in after her. He then pressed his paw onto a panel on the side of the compartment and the door closed.

Then, suddenly, Kate felt the compartment rushing downward, like an elevator, and saw strips of light fly up past them on their descent into the earth. Eventually they came to a stop, and Absol pressed his paw to the panel again so that the door slid up to reveal a huge room filled with some Dark-types chatting to each other. Absol lead Kate to a desk nearby labelled 'Reception' and spoke to the Hydreigon sitting there.

"Hi, Ray," Absol said. "I've got a new recruit here." He nodded over to Kate. Ray beamed at him.

"Of course, Guildmaster Absol," she said. She then gave him a box of items, which he passed to Kate.

"These are things you'll need," he said. "There's a Pokedex, a bag and some assorted scarves and bows-though, mind you, it doesn't seem you'll need one," he adds, looking at the large blue bow on the Sneasel's back. He then led her down a flight of stairs to a room as large as the first, but filled with hundreds of hay beds, some of which are still occupied. Kate thought that Guildmaster Absol was about to give her a bed, when he brought the two of them to stop in front of the bed of a sleeping Zorua. Absol shook the Zorua, waking the Tricky Fox Pokemon up.

The Zorua yawned. "Yo, what's with the wake-up call, Guildmaster?" he murmured, his eyes still closed.

"I'm going to give you your own base with this new recruit," Absol said, waving a hand at Kate. The Zorua's eyes flew wide open and he sat up in bed, all excited. "Really? Wow, thanks, Guildmaster! I'm Zorua, what's your name?" The last sentence, though rushed like the others before it, was directed at Kate.

"Kate," she said. "But call me Sneasel." She felt that she'd rather be called Sneasel than Kate.

"Wow, Ka-er, I mean, Sneasel, nice to meet you!" said the Zorua, before quickly packing up all his possessions. When they were all ready, Absol led them back up the stairs and back up the elevator into the forest, before taking them a little bit more of a walk to the outskirts of the forest, where there is a small burrow. Inside are three beds and a fridge.

"All right, then," Absol said to the two of them. 'This is your base, where you'll live while you work in the Guild. Show up for training tomorrow, and use today to settle in, and maybe get some rest." He eyes Zorua suspiciously as he says the last sentence before leaving the base. Zorua and Kate then settle in and chat, getting to know each other.

That night, while Zorua sat on his bed playing a DS game (which he obviously did a lot), Kate lay on her bed and thought of Riolu, who she was missing so much. Eventually she couldn't fight the drowsiness and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"C'mon, get up Zorua," Sneasel snapped, rousing the Tricky Fox Pokemon; as usual, he had played DS games all night, and was sleeping in now. Zorua mumbled something like, "Five more minutes," and rolled over in his sleep. Irritated, Sneasel snatched the blanket Zorua lay on away, so that he fell onto the prickly hay and winced. Sneasel, thoroughly annoyed, flung the blanket down beside Zorua's bed and grabbed her bag, which was filled with supplies, including water, food and a Pokedex.

"What's with the early wake-up call?" Zorua moaned, getting up. Sneasel rubbed his back, which was sore from the hay.

"Come on, Zorua, don't you remember? The Medicham are going to have a war, which will basically take place on our doorstep, and we have to go into the fray and save all innocent Pokemon from getting harmed," said Sneasel, all the hostility gone from her voice as she talked to her friend. It had been a full year since she had left Riolu; a full year of getting to training late (all thanks to Zorua), of learning all sorts of techniques and of trying to complete their training.

"Oh, yeah," said Zorua, fully awake now. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The two of them raced out of our base and into the forest, finally stopping at the tree, where Zorua pressed the knob, and riding down to the first floor, where we joined in on the meeting that Absol was holding for all the apprenticises. Master Foo, the Mienfoo that was the only non-Dark type in the guild and also Absol's right-hand man, nodded approvingly at Sneasel and Zorua; they weren't late, for once, but just in time. The moment they sat down, Absol launched into his summary of what they had to do.

"All right, Darkstorm," he addressed the assembly in front of him. "Remember, the plan is to just go into the battlefield and get all innocent Pokemon-basically, Pokemon that aren't Meditite or Medicham-out of the way. If need be, attack the Medicham, but only to get them out of the way or to stop them hurting victims; NEVER to induce a fight. Is that understood?" Everyone nodded and he sent them all out, reminding everyone that if they did a good job, Master Foo might choose them to evolve, and that if they ever found a good Dark-type, that they should offer them a recruitment in the guild.

Zorua and Sneasel headed out back through the forest until they reached he plain, where they walked a little further until a blade of air hit the ground directly at their feet, making them yelp in fright. Looking up, Sneasel saw that the Flying-type Medicham were already here, and suddenly screams rose in the air as they sent blade after blade of air at all Pokemon around. Then the Ground-type Medicham popped out of the ground and glared at their foes, equally angry. And then all hell broke loose.

All types of Medicham were sprinting out onto the land, which instantly became a battlefield where everyone either battled or fled for their survival. Grabbing Zorua by the shoulder, Sneasel raced through the dangerous atmosphere, dodging oncoming attacks and Zorua occasionally firing a Shadow Ball at an opponent. Eventually, however, they reached the area where innocent victims were hollering for help, some injured, others hiding. Sneasel said, "Zorua, what are we going to do?" Zorua shrugged before suddenly bursting into a coughing fit; the Poison-types, the last to arrive, had just released a huge batch of toxic gas, which smoked up the area. However, the other Medicham fortunately didn't like this, so they cleared it up. Still choking, Sneasel and Zorua raced to a Hackal with her baby Jewkal, ready to help.

All through the war, Sneasel and Zorua helped Pokemon, their families, and attacked the Medicham that were torturing innocent passer-by's. And all through it, Sneasel wondered how Grovyle and Riolu would've fared in this situation. _They'd just attack, that's what_, she thought. _They'd attack the moment they saw one of these Medicham, hurting Pokemon that were simply there, that had nothing to do with this until now. They'd only think of how barbaric the Medicham were, and that's true, but still, I'd be the only one out of the three of us that didn't do that, and only sought to end the war, to stop anyone getting hurt, ever. _ Then she remembered the friend she was racing around beside, and realised that she wasn't the only one that would've only done that; having known Zorua for a full year, she knew that he was just like her, and would rather to calm fights than instigate them.

And that's when she saw him; a Pawniard was crying, jumping and waving his arms at a plane passing overhead, screaming, "DADDY! DADDY! COME BACK, DADDY!" He then crumpled on the ground, sobbing. Sneasel pointed him out to Zorua, and the two of them headed over to him. When they reached him, Zorua put a paw on his shoulder, making him look up in surprise to see the duo. Sneasel offered him her paw, and he held it, letting her pull him up. Then she yelled, for right behind him stood a Fire-type Medicham, who brought a flaming fist down on the ground between them, making the three of them jump back in fright. The Pawniard, rather ticked off, rubbed his knife-like hands together, covering them in sparks. Sneasel's eyes widened as he launched himself at the Medicham and started slashing it with his hands, back and forth until the Medicham fainted. Grinning, Zorua held out his paw for Pawniard to shake. The three of them then raced to the base, which looked a little burnt on the outside but overall ok.

Sneasel rummaged for a yellow scarf, as requested by Pawniard, while Zorua explained to him about the guild.

"You see, the guild is made to train Dark-types, and to help innocent Pokemon in times of war," he explained while Pawniard tied the yellow scarf Sneasel had handed him around his neck. "And, if you do really well, Master Foo might choose you to evolve!"

Pawniard, who was trying as hard as he could to listen, suddenly lost consciousness; the reason was a combination of battling hard, loosing his dad (who was in some far-off country now), the excitement of joining a guild, which he had not been able to do because of his step mum, Angelina the Mienshao, and possibly evolving.

* * *

><p>Years went by, and the three became inseparable friends; except for Sneasel and Pawniard.<p>

"Look, Sparkle-blade, stop just dumping your stuff on the floor, keep beside your bed will you!"

"STOP calling me Sparkle-blade, bitch!" Pawniard snarled.

"Can you please just be quiet?" Zorua snapped, killing some random dude on Halo, on his Xbox. Sneasel and Pawniard just turned away from each other.

Eventually, though, the time came when, at the age of 19, the trio got the chance to evolve. Master Foo came in the dead of night-so Sneasel could evolve-and held out three Rare Candies and a Razor Claw. Sneasel snatched up the Razor Claw and a Rare Candy and ate the lolly, evolving into what she always wanted to be: a Weavile. Pawniard and Zorua then evolved so that they were Bisharp and Zoroark. Master Foo then congratulated them on graduating, and the three separated.


	3. Chapter 3

Weavile drank the last of her lemonade and looked up at the blue, sunny sky. It had been almost a month since she had separated from her two friends, and she was living in trees on the outskirts of a town. Right now she was sitting on a park bench, drinking fresh lemonade in the hot sun. Nearby, she noticed a Kirlia was walking down the street, licking an ice cream and listening to her MP3 player.

Suddenly, however, this Gallade came up to her. She fell gaga over him and, when he held out his hand for her ice cream, she didn't refuse. Then, the Gallade put the ice cream in its mouth, and transformed into a female Zorua, who snickered before running away. The Kirlia, enraged, cried out after it.

"_Hey, eso es mío! Vuelve aquí, puta de mierda, o me voy todos los psico en ti!"_ she screamed in Spanish, which Weavile understood. Then, with a sigh, she came over to Weavile and sat on the opposite end of the park bench. Weavile raised her eyebrows, before handing the Kirlia a brownie from her bag. The Kirlia's eyes widened as she accepted the gift.

"Wow, th-thanks," the Kirlia said, taking a bite out of it.

"No problem," Weavile replied.

"You know, I've always wanted to be in a team," sighed Kirlia.

"Team?" Weavile asked quizzically.

"Yes," Kirlia said. "There are always Pokemon in teams, groups of six that treat each other like family, and act like a family. I've always wanted to be in one, especially since my older sister is in one, that's why I haven't seen her for a while…"

Weavile pondered for a moment, then said, "How about we create a team? We can gather four more members, and we'll find a place to live, I'm sure."

Kirlia gasped. "Really? Wow, thankyou!" She gobbled the last of the brownie and stood up. "I'm Kali, by the way."

"Weavile," Weavile responded. The two them walked into town.

They soon met a Mienshao, sighing as she stood in front of a derelict building. Kali just walked up to her and said, "Hi, Mienshao."

Mienshao turned and grinned at Kali. "Hi, what's up?" She looked to be about 45 years old, give or take, yet quite strong.

"Well, Mienshao," Kali continued. "Weavile here and I were going to start a team, and I was wondering if you'd be in."

"Of course," said Mienshao firmly, grinning at Weavile. Weavile shook her hand, and the three of them went to a small café.

Weavile soon learned that Mienshao was a widowed 46-year-old, with a daughter who was currently at a karate school, and a dream of starting a dojo.

"It's what my husband would've done," sighed Mienshao. "But then he died, so I'm left to take up the job. Oh, hi Espeon." Weavile turned to see an Espeon standing behind them, smiling slightly.

"Hi," she blushed. "Pleased to meet you." She pulled up a cushion at their table and sat down.

"Hey, Espeon, would you like to join the team we're making?" Kali asked brightly.

Espeon's eyes widened. "Gosh, I'd love to," she gasped. "So, how many team members do we have?"

"Four," said Weavile, putting down her coffee mug. "Oh, and what are the roles?"

"Well, there's Leader, Vice-leader, Organizer, Healer, Trainer and Scout," Kali explained. "Well, I guess you could be the leader, Weavile. Since you and I came up with the idea, I would be vice. It's safe to say Mienshao's trainer, she's an incredible battler, and Espeon is a Psychic-type, so she should be healer. That means we just need an organizer and a scout."

The four of them headed out onto the street and Weavile noticed a little navy blue tail wagging in the air above a rubbish bin. Then it disappeared into the mess to be replaced by an Oshawott's head, sucking on a dirty lollipop he must have found inside. Weavile, pitiful of the little otter, went over to him.

"Why are you searching through bins?" She asked the little boy. He seemed taken aback that someone was talking to him.

"Well, er, my parents are dead, and I don't have any money or anyone to care for me so I have to," he stammered. Weavile put a comforting arm around his small shoulders.

"How would you like to join the team we're making?" she asked, nodding over to the three waiting for her. "That way, you'll never go hungry again."

Oshawott seemed to think for a moment, before chucking the lollipop behind him and throwing himself into Weavile's arms. Weavile picked him up and hugged him, before returning to others, grinning and saying, "Here's our new scout."

Kali said she had an idea about who to recruit as the organizer. She led the team out to a small firewood cutting service, and knocked on the door. A Ninetales opened it up for them with one of her many tails.

"Hi, Ninetales," Kali said. "How would you like to join the team we're making, and become the organizer?"

OhMiGosh, yes!" cried the Ninetales, hugging Kali tightly.

Ninetales worked as a charcoal maker, but now she was part of the team. The group headed down the coast to a series of caves in the rock face next to the beach, where they headed inside and found that the place was very good for them to live in.

"So, what will our team name be?" asked Ninetales as she pressed her paw to the rock wall inside one of the caves.

_Name?_ Weavile thought. _How am I going to come up with a name?_ Then she looked to the wall for inspiration, and saw crystals in the rock, and suddenly her mind flashbacked to seven years prior, when she had been in a different cave, in a different place, a place where her one true love had kissed her for the first time-

"How about…" Weavile finally mused. "Team…Crystal?"

"_Si!"_ Kali cried in Spanish, which, it turns out, the whole team knew. "Yes, it is perfect!" Kali continued in English. The others nodded in agreement, and suddenly Weavile knew that this team was now her family.

Then Oshawott suddenly called from another cave, "Hey, everyone, look what I found!" Team Crystal raced through to him to see that he had discovered a mountain load of crystals lying in one of the caves. Weavile grinned to herself. She now had a team; a team that was a family.


	4. Chapter 4

Team Psi and Team Illusion were laughing and chatting as they trekked through the Crystal Woods, named so since they were near the Crystal Caves. The two teams were going down to the beach, and to go through the forest was the quickest option. Simipour from Team Psi and Vaporeon from Team Illusion were talking quietly and giggling, when suddenly Vaporeon said, "C'mon, Simipour, let's beat the others to it!" She then raced through the trees while Simipour ran after her, leaving the two teams staring after them.

They ran through the forest until they reached a small hedge that ran in a perfect 5-metre radius around a sack with jewels spilling out. Simipour gapsed in wonder and ran forwards.

"Wow," he breathed. "We've found the motherload!"

Vaporeon, however, noticed the piece of string sitting underneath the sack, running up into the branches of a tree next to it.

"Simipour," she warned him. "Wait a second-,"

"So you can pick it up? NO WAY," said Simipour firmly, and heaved the sack up and onto his back. Then the cord flew up, and a large cage slammed down around Simipour, trapping him.

"Simipour!" Vaporeon gasped, running up to the cage and shaking the bars of the cage. Suddenly a cackle rang around the small clearing.

"You tried to steal from us?" said a voice. "Well…NOW YOU'RE TRAPPED!" Vaporeon ran fearfully towards the hedge, but just when she reached it a net with weights on each of the six corners fell on top of her, leaving her stuck.

"Bisharp! Zoroark! Somebody, HELP!" Vaporeon screamed.

"Did you hear something?" asked the shiny Medicham of Team Illusion, Team Psi Medicham sitting beside him on the rock.

"Yeah, it sounded like Vaporeon," said Leafeon, her ears perking up, "Calling for help!"

"Ok," said Bisharp firmly. "Everyone stay here, I'm going to find them." He then left without a second glance.

As Bisharp rushed through the woods, Vaporeon's screams became more pronounced, and soon he reached the hedge and burst through it-and fell down a pit trap right behind it. He landed hard on his back in the dark hole, and heard Vaporeon scream, "Bisharp!" But his mind was cloudy, and he could barely stay awake.

Then he heard a familiar voice. "Kali, get that 'savoir' out of the pit trap, in case more come," it said.

_Weavile._

He felt something seem to pull at him, some invisible force, but nothing happened. "Kali, hurry up!" snarled Weavile.

"I'm trying, you know it doesn't work all the time!" snapped the Pokemon called Kali, and Bisharp felt the force tug at him again, and suddenly his body was outlined in a glowing blue, and he was hoisted out of the air by Kali, who was a Kirlia. With a jolt, Bisharp realised that Kali was using Psychic, and he was a Dark-type; nothing was making sense.

"Weavile!" he gasped, noticing the Weavile standing behind Kali, surrounded by a group that seemed to be her team. "Weavile, it's me, Bisharp!"

"Yeah, I know you're a Bisharp," Weavile snapped. "Kinda obvious, isn't it?"

"No, _the_ Bisharp, Sparkleblade!" Out of pure frustration, Bisharp rubbed his hand blades together, covering them in sparks. Weavile's eyes widened, and she said to Kali, "Drop him." Kali let go of the psychic, and by pure accident, Bisharp was dropped back into the hole, where his chest blades stuck into the ground. He retracted them and stood up, reaching for the hand Weavile held out to him.

After some apologies and the release of Simipour and Vaporeon, Team Crystal walked back to the rest of Team Psi and Team Illusion with Bisharp and the two Water-types.

"So, why did you have the whole trap-thing there?" Bishar asked quizzically.

Weavile sighed. "Well, a trip to Ginesia Town-where the jewel cutters are-is a two-day trek, and then it's a full two day trek back. We live in the Crystal Caves, you see. Anyway, we were just heading back home with these jewels we got cut, so we had to camp at the halfway point. We normally sleep in the trees on treks like these, but we can't hold the jewels up with us, so we set some traps around it to stop thieves."

"So, what do use these gems for?" asked Vaporeon. "Do you use them to sell to other people?"

"No," said Kali, the Vice-leader of Team Crystal. "We do use them as actual money, occasionally, but we mainly use them to concentrate our powers and that."

Suddenly Team Illusion and Team Psi came into view. Weavile gasped and flung herself at Zoroark, who hugged her tightly. Team Crystal then introduced themselves to the two teams.

"Hi!" said Psi Medicham as she and Illusion Medicham went over to Mienshao. "Are you the trainer of Tam Crystal?"

"Yes," Mienshao said firmly.

"Wow, how old are you?" Illusion Medicham asked. "I mean, Medicham here and I are both 17, we're the trainers of Team Psi and Team Illusion."

"I'm 49 years old," said Mienshao briskly. The Medicham's jaws dropped to the ground at this piece of news, and Mienshao smiled slyly.

Kali was chatting chirpily with Pikachu of Team Illusion when she suddenly bumped into Nuzleaf, from Team Psi. She looked up at him and suddenly she fell in love with him.

"H-Hi," she stammered.

"Hey," said Nuzleaf with a smile. Suddenly his mobile phone rang, and he answered it. "Yes, Roselia? Uh huh…uh huh…got it." He hung up and turned to Kali. "That was just my girlfriend, Roselia," he said casually.

It was like the world froze around Kali as she realised Nuzleaf was with someone. She just nodded curtly and continued to talk with Pikachu, trying to get her mind off what just happened. And then she got her second shock for that day: standing in front of her was a Gardevoir with purple eyes and purple streaks through her hair. It was her sister, Gardevoir of Team Illusion.

"Kali!" Gardevoir gasped, and Kali rushed to her and threw her arms around her; it had been almost 5 years since they had last saw each other.

Meanwhile, Oshawott ran over to Emolga and Vulpix. "Hi!" he sang. "Are you scouts too?"  
>"Yep!" said Vulpix. "I'm from Team Psi, and Emolga's from Team Illusion."<p>

"Cool!" cried Oshawott, beaming.

Eventually, however, everyone had to go home. Team Crystal started to head back home when suddenly Oshawott tripped on a small key, pointing to a cave not unlike the ones near the beach. "Hey, guys, I found something!" he sang, and ran into the cave.

"Oshawott, wait!" Espeon gasped, and the three teams rushed after him. They found him at the end of the cave at a dead end, where there was a small keyhole-like crack in the wall, which Oshawott was now trying to fit the key through.

"Oshawott, that isn't going to work," sighed Ninetales, but suddenly the key went through and the wall crumbled to small pebbles. Looking inside, the teams noticed that it was another dead end room, except it had a small panel that seemed to glow. Without thinking, Oshawott stepped forward tenetatively before walking onto the panel and disappearing.

Everyone gasped in fright. Emolga and Vulpix panicked, and ran after their new friend, onto the panel, where they disappeared too. Then all three teams rushed through the small doorway with a lot of squirming and squabbling and finally all made it onto the panel.

The panel teleported them all into a gigantic, cavernous room filled with absolutely nothing except a small altar in the middle, on which stood a large crystal. Everyone walked to the altar, at which the scouts already were, and read the plaque beneath the large, grey and pink stone:

_The IllusionPsiCrystal_

No one knew what it meant, though they eventually decided that this crystal was called the IllusionPsiCrystal. They then walked around the large underground room.

"You know, there's a wall like that cave near our place, the Jade Palace," mused Leafeon.

"And there's also one near our place," added Zoroark.

"Maybe," said Espeon. "If we gave you each the key in turn, we could visit and talk to each other here, if there are panels behind those walls. That way, we wouldn't have to walk long distances to reach each other." Everyone nodded, and Oshawott handed Bisharp the key before everyone headed back onto the panel and back to their homes.

_Meanwhile, the Zorua that had once taunted Kali, the day Team Crystal was made, sniggered as she watched the teams come out of the cave and say goodbye to each other. She now realised, not by coincidence, the way to power. Her name was Zoe, and she had discovered what she had been looking for; a way to find the IllusionPsiCrystal._


	5. Chapter 5

Vulpix returned to her room in the Jade Palace after breakfast to find a letter sitting on her bed. Curious, she sat on her bed and opened it to find a carefully written note addressed to her from Bisharp.

_Dear Vulpix,_

_Could we meet in that fancy café down the road? I want to test you on your singing ability._

_Bisharp._

Vulpix was surprised. Did her singing need testing? _Maybe he just wants to see if I'm up to scratch,_ she thought, before shrugging to herself and making her way to the Soiree Café.

At the same time, Bisharp returned to his own room after a platter of scrambled eggs and noticed an envelope on his desk. He picked it up, slit the top and read the note inside:

_Dear Bisharp,_

_I was wondering if you could test me on my singing ability? Meet me in the Soiree Café down the road for lunch._

_Signed, with love, from Vulpix._

Bisharp raised his eyebrows. Why did Vulpix want her singing voice to be tested? He then decided he would ask her when he got down there, and walked down the road.

At the Soiree Café, Vulpix and Bisharp found a booth to sit in and ordered some drinks, Bisharp getting a Coke while Vulpix asked for some pink lemonade, and they got straight down to it, neither realising that they had been set up. Vulpix quietly sang Poker Face, and at the end of the song Bisharp gave her a quiet round of applause and said she was great at singing. He then asked her, "So, why did you want me to test you?"

"What do you mean?" Vulpix said, frowning. "Didn't you ask me to come so you could test me?"

They looked confusedly at each other for one second, and then the lights went out. Since the Soiree Café was underground, beneath the Soiree Hotel, there was no other light in the large room, and so Pokémon started to scream. Bisharp and Vulpix felt two Pokémon grabbing them, and, in an attempt to see who was kidnapping them, Vulpix created a small flame, which Bisharp reflected with his head blade at his assailant.

"You-!" he gasped as he recognised the Pokémon gripping him tightly before the figure hit him hard on the head, knocking him out conscious. The pair took the two Psians out of the place, the lights suddenly flew back on, and everyone stared dazedly around them, unknowing about the struggle that had taken place.

* * *

><p>"When are they going to get here?" Oshawott whined as he looked anxiously at the panel on the ground which led to the Jade Palace; Team Psi's home.<p>

"Don't worry, they'll be here soon," Lucario said soothingly, placing his arm around Weavile's shoulders.

A lot of time had passed since the three teams had met and found the cavern, which they now met in regularly. They had seen Espeon and Mienshao leave Team Crystal, Glaceon taking the position of Organiser and Ninetales moving to Healer, while Lucario took Mienshao's place as trainer. Lucario was Weavile's partner from the Treasure Universe, Riolu, having pulled off his dream of becoming that world's greatest explorer and now having come searching for Weavile, taking Mienshao's place when she had left to start a dojo. He and Weavile were now an inseparable pair, and everyone had noticed a huge change in Weavile since he had arrived. She was now much more begrudging to Bisharp, when they had used to be fierce rivals. It had been close to a week since Christmas, and everyone was now excited about the New Year, even though Team Psi were leaving for Russia in very early 2012.

Suddenly, Team Psi appeared on the panel, and Oshawott rushed forwards to greet Vulpix and Nuzleaf. Team Illusion, who had been sitting at a table a bit away, came over and greeted each other. Then everyone realised: Bisharp was standing apart from the group, his eyes transfixed on Weavile.

He started walking toward the Sharp Claw Pokemon, and Weavile, expecting a load of hostility, prepared herself. But in no way could she be prepared for what happened next.

Bisharp grabbed her arm and kissed her full on the lips.

Everyone stared. Then Lucario and Gardevoir, enraged, ran over and broke the pair. Weavile, scared and worried, clutched Lucario, staring at Bisharp, who was now being punched and kicked by a screaming Gardevoir. Gardevoir was Bisharp's girlfriend, you see, and she was upset by the fact that he seemed to be cheating on her. Zoroark finally got rid of his shock ad strode over, grabbing Gardevoir and pulling her away while she sobbed.

"Bisharp, what's up with you?" enquired Nuzleaf worriedly.

Bisharp raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Can't I kiss my girlfriend?" he asked.

"GIRLFRIEND?" screamed Gardevoir. "I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND, YOU SON OF A BITCH! MIND YOU, I DON'T THINK I WILL BE AFTER WHAT YOU JUST DID!"

Kali, who had been talking to Pikachu before the drama started, suddenly noticed Vulpix give herself a face palm, and frowned suspiciously.

"I think he must've bonked his head or somethin'," mused Simipour.

"I'll take him to his room so he can rest, then he might feel better," said Vulpix abruptly. Bisharp seemed to understand something in what she said, and followed her back onto the panel to the Jade Palace. Then, while the rest of the teams started talking quietly, and Gardevoir was given a meditating treatment by the Medicham to soothe her anger, Kali grabbed Pikachu by the hand and raced along with him, taking Nuzleaf's arm as well and leading the three of them onto the Jade Palace panel.

"What are you doing?" Nuzleaf asked as they appeared on the windy hill and started to stride after Kali.

"Bisharp's not the only suspicious one," said Kali firmly. "Vulpix too. Come on." She then led the three Vice leaders to the palace and through the rooms to Bisharp's room, where they stood and eavesdropped at his door.

"…that the real Bisharp and that Weavile hate each other?" Vulpix was saying. "Now you seem really suspicious, which means they might find out what we're up to!"

Kali took a peak around the door and nearly fell over in surprise. For it was not Vulpix sitting on Bisharp's bed with him, but a Zorua, whom she vaguely remembered had stolen her ice cream the day Team Crystal was made.

"I'm sorry, Zoe, ok?" Bisharp snarled at the Zorua. Then his colour suddenly changed from red to blue, and his head blade and face became highlighter yellow. "Look, I'm just attracted to her, alright? God, how I'd like to smash her boyfriend Lucario's face in-and mind you, that Gardevoir isn't pretty at all, I don't get why Bisharp is attracted to her…"

"Look, Blades, I know you might want to fuck with that Weavile, but not right now, we need to make sure we get the IllusionPsiCrystal, then you can kidnap her or something-,"

"Can I just say something?" said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere, and suddenly a Kadabra, who had been invisible up until that point, appeared in mid-air, sitting cross-legged above the ground.

"That Kirlia can see through illusions, you know," said the Kadabra serenely. "If I hadn't gone in before you two and sensed her powers and blocked them, she would have found out the moment she saw you. You need to watch out for her."

"Alright, well, thank you, Franks," said Zoe brusquely. "But point is, we need to be careful, or we'll get caught…and Team DarkVoid, as you well know, doesn't like to be caught…especially when we kidnapped that Vulpix and Bisharp…"

Franks nodded and disappeared, while Blades changed back to red and gold. Kali quickly grabbed Nuzleaf and Pikachu and pulled them into Simipour's room while Zoe turned into a Vulpix, and watched quietly as she and Blades walked out, with Franks most likely following them.

"I've heard of Blades," Nuzleaf said quietly when it seemed safe to talk. "Bisharp told me he was the shiny Bisharp who stole his Pawniard pack…and now he's after the IllusionPsiCrystal…"

All three of them remembered the grey-pink gem sitting on a plinth in the middle of their cavern.

"So they took Bisharp and Vulpix?" Pikachu pressed on. "What do you think they'll do with them?"

"Probably keep them quiet," Kali sighed. "And that Kadabra muted my psychic skills…the little bastard…"

"Come on, we need to stop them," snapped Nuzleaf, and the three of them raced back to the panel on the hill and into the cavern.

When they arrived, however, there was complete chaos. The entire cavern was pitch-black, and the teams were yelling out in confusion. Pikachu quickly shot out a surge of electricity, giving a Flash-like affect, and in it the three could see Team DarkVoid, back in their normal forms-with Franks once again visible-standing at the plinth and removing the IllusionPsiCrystal, making the plinth slowly lower itself into the ground. Suddenly, Nuzleaf tightened his grip on Kali's hand and dragged the other two behind him as he rushed to the thieves and grabbing hold of Frank's tail just as the Psi Pokémon used Teleport.


End file.
